Syncopated
by backinthebox
Summary: The solution, Stacie decided, was to get Aubrey laid. Easy enough in theory, but Aubrey was the very definition of being high maintenance. Clearly, this was a job for the Hunter.
1. Chapter 1

Throw away almost all of canon, and concentrate on the Staubrey.

It's basically a twist on the classic Staubrey trope, so I hope you like it.

* * *

The solution, Stacie decided, surveying the utter misery of her fellow Bellas, all lying on various parts of the bleachers after another one of Aubrey's "wind-down cardios", is to get Aubrey laid.

Easy enough in theory: Aubrey was pretty, and not into niche things like science fiction or genre shows. She was smart, but not to the point that everything that came out of her mouth required intimate knowledge of a dictionary or collegiate text book.

She was a bit (a lot) high strung, however. And a control freak (not that being a control freak was always a bad thing). And the very definition of being high maintenance.

No, getting Aubrey Posen laid was going to be a challenge.

It wasn't hard to conclude that Aubrey wasn't getting laid, especially after they had been taught the choreography to _Turn the Beat Around_. Stacie had suspected as much for weeks, because that kind of forced, controlled smile was not something that came from someone who got much — or any — and when the choreography turned out to be as conservative and controlled as Aubrey Posen, Stacie had known for sure.

Because there was _nothing_ conservative or controlled about Turn the Beat Around.

It's around the third time Aubrey told her to keep her hands away from touching herself that Stacie decided _she_ would be seducing the graduating Bella. Because if the current population of Barden weren't good enough to get Aubrey Posen into bed, then clearly this was a job for the Hunter.

The way she figured it, if she succeeded, Aubrey would loosen the reins during Bellas practice and make the experience more fun and free of pain. If Stacie did the job spectacularly, maybe Aubrey would loosen up enough to let them change their set a little, hopefully to something a little more… contemporary. Or cool. Or even just current.

If she failed… Well, failure wasn't really an option, because Stacie liked the Bellas (even with Cynthia Rose's obvious… _fixation_ ). And if failure wasn't an option, that meant Stacie couldn't be obvious with her plan of action.

Which, if she'll be honest, was having no plan at all.

Asking Chloe about Aubrey's preferences was out of the question, since Chloe would get involved, and Stacie was pretty sure Chloe was incapable of tact (she heard about her shower duet with Beca, which, _damn_ Stacie was in the wrong dorm).

And since Aubrey's social stock crashed and burned after last year's ICCA final, nobody would admit to having slept wi... er, _dated_ her, that meant Stacie would have to go in blind.

And, yes, Stacie _had_ considered that the incidence of homosexuality among women was on average one in every ten, and Cynthia Rose was clearly their one ( _clearly_ ); but Chloe pings at least flexible, and Denise kind of maybe pings a little (she's not sure), and Beca pings wildly around Chloe. Aubrey? Aubrey was like an asexual panda, as if sex fell well below school and studying and music and Bellas and possibly even the new iPhone (if pandas cared about any of that stuff), but anyone that obsessed with fitting in and being mainstream and traditional had to have some skeletons in her (ha) closet.

Stacie mostly just wings the first stage of her seduction: mild touches when Aubrey's nearby, referring to her at every possibility, sitting with her during Bellas rehearsals when opportunity arose. Really, just getting Aubrey used to her proximity and warming her up to the idea of _Stacie Conrad_. But the road to Regionals was a bumpy ride, and Stacie would like to live to at least finish her first college semester, so Stage One was mostly intelligence-gathering, and very ( _very_ ) mild seduction, something she hoped will come to fruition when they won (or qualify) and made it to the next round, in what she hoped would result in celebratory drunken revelry. Preferably a private one. A girl can dream.

The dream died as soon as that window in the concert hall shattered, and Beca got arrested.

(Thanks a lot, Beca.)

Which resulted in Aubrey obsessing over how they now had a _delinquent_ on their squad, and how that kind of conduct must seem to a cappella insiders, and aca- _oh my God_. Stacie reconsidered her plan of seduction, which made her reconsider how Aubrey should just get laid, which made her consider just getting Aubrey drunk and see where Drunk-Aubrey would go.

"Not a good idea," Chloe told her one night, at a campus party they both ended up in with nary another Bella in the room, when Stacie voiced her complaints about Aubrey's drill master tendencies and how to get her to ease up. According to Chloe, Aubrey had a decently high level of tolerance for alcohol, but went from sober to drunk without an in-between stage, and Drunk-Aubrey had a 50/50 chance at becoming extremely mean or extremely affectionate.

Drill Sergeant Bellas Captain Posen could get even meaner? No thank you.

Not that Aubrey even _needed_ the alcohol, because knowing they had just barely edged out the sock puppets meant Aubrey tightened the reins a little more. When classes were a reprieve from the hell that was Bellas practice, well…

It said a lot that even Hunter was too exhausted from Bellas practice to even _want_ to go on the prowl.

The Plan had to take a back seat, however, when a random run-in with Aubrey gave Stacie an "in" with the tyrannical captain.

It was late one Friday night, and Stacie had been heading home from a fraternity house party that she had decided to leave early, having nobody there to talk to and ultimately being bored out of her mind. It hadn't helped that some jerk kept trying to hit on her and offering her alcohol, as if her desire for sex was equivalent for her having low standards. Ahead of her on the sidewalk was a very familiar figure, with her bag and a pile of books in her arms, which informed Stacie that Aubrey must have been either going to, or coming from, the library.

She sped up her steps, and reached out, opening with, "those look heavy."

Aubrey jumped, and Stacie yelped, jerking back as an elbow jabbed in her direction. Aubrey gasped when she recognized her assailant, and realized she had been about to further debilitate the Bellas by taking down their best dancer. "Stacie! You can't just grab someone like that!"

Seriously, Aubrey's instinct was to jab someone with an elbow?

"I took self-defense, so what?" Aubrey replied, because apparently Stacie had voiced that question out loud. She took note of Stacie's outfit, and smiled knowingly at where Stacie must have been coming from, or going to. "Omega Chi?"

Stacie nodded mutely. She knew she should say something, be a better conversationalist, tell Aubrey about the party at one of Barden's more reputable frat houses (sorry, SBT), but Aubrey's hair was becoming undone in its bun, giving the older girl an unkempt, messy look, and Stacie wondered why Aubrey didn't go around looking like this more often, because it was HOT, in all caps.

Aubrey nodded in approval, and motioned over her shoulder. "Well, have fun." She turned to leave. "'Night, Stacie."

Shit. Wait. No. "Coffee!"

Aubrey turned back, startled at the sudden outcry from the younger girl. "Coffee?"

"Yeah." Stacie nodded enthusiastically. "We should get coffee."

"It's almost midnight." Aubrey pointed out.

"It is?" Stacie asked, confused. At Aubrey's nod, she drew out, "…it is." She glanced at the books in Aubrey's arms. "You'll need it to study?"

"I just came from the library." Aubrey corrected the assumption.

Stacie was fading, fast. "Friday night coffee party?"

Aubrey looked skeptical. "Really?"

"Come on." Stacie cajoled, because that was not a no. "My doctor always said coffee is the fuel of life."

Aubrey's skepticism was more evident now. "Your _doctor_ said that?"

"Yeah. My doctor…" Stacie's voice grew faint. "Maxwell. House."

Aubrey couldn't help but smile at the hopelessness that was Stacie's attempt at being low-key. "Your doctor's name is Dr. Maxwell House."

"No relation to Gregory." Stacie added. Shit, did she really just relate a coffee brand with a tv character?

"I'm sure." Aubrey concurred in muted bewilderment. She paused in consideration, glancing back over her shoulder in the direction of the residence she shared with Chloe, and sighed. She turned back to Stacie, resolute. "Sure. Why not. Let's get coffee."

"Really?" Stacie asked, surprised. She had expected Aubrey to make an excuse, or call for a rain check.

"Yeah." Aubrey shrugged. "Do you have a place in mind?"

That was how their coffee dates started.

Well, not exactly 'dates', because Stacie only called it that in her head, and Aubrey never called it anything at all. But once or twice a week (more, if the Bellas behave and Beca hasn't somehow managed to get on Aubrey's bad side... so really just once or twice a week, but definitely on Friday nights) the two of them end up in the same small cozy off-campus café, which had an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie that was to die for.

Coffee with Aubrey was a surprise in how easy it was to just sit with her and talk. Aubrey was a surprisingly good listener, despite her combative relationship with Beca, and she offered Stacie some advice on the younger girl's current status as having an undeclared major, not even batting an eyelash when Stacie revealed she was torn between pursuing a Maths or Science course. People tend to be incredulous and disbelieving when Stacie told them that, but Aubrey had just nodded, and pointed out Maths had more career prospects in general, but Science would be more challenging in the long run. And as if Aubrey's high strung personality during Bellas practice hadn't been a clear enough indicator, it was during their coffee meetings that Stacie learned the amount of pressure Aubrey was under as a graduating student, to graduate with honors and applying for a post-graduate program her father would approve of. They also talked about the Bellas, and it was nice for Stacie to learn that away from practice, Aubrey had mostly nice things to say about the group — with the exception of Beca — even if she was a little critical of their preparation for the semifinals.

Preparations that proved pointless, because Aubrey insisted on using the same music that the Bellas before her had insisted on, a set she wanted to prove could lead Bellas to victory, a set she wanted to be vindicated for. Stacie didn't have the heart to tell her how absolutely boring the set was. She couldn't really fault Beca for trying to remedy the sleepiness of their performance at the semis, but it was like Beca just enjoyed finding ways to unhinge Aubrey's sanity.

Sympathy sex didn't even occur to her, and Stacie wanted to curse herself when she realized she had let the opportunity pass. And she realized belatedly that there was a very real possibility that what she actually wanted from Aubrey was more than just sex.

When they got back from Spring Break, with news that they were heading to Finals in New York after all, Stacie was surprised when Aubrey invited her for coffee before the Bellas were supposed to reconvene.

What wasn't a surprise was that Aubrey was still annoyed with Beca, especially since Chloe had really taken to heart what Beca had said before she'd left the concert hall, that she didn't really have a voice in the Bellas, and had been taking it out on Aubrey by giving her the silent treatment before, and during Spring Break.

"…And I keep telling her, fish in the sea, but…"

"She wants a very specific Beca-fish." Stacie finished for her. "The heart wants what it wants."

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "Chloe's heart's resilient. Anyone would be lucky to have her."

Stacie tilted her head to the side. "Have you?"

"Have I what?" Aubrey asked, sipping her drink.

"'Had' Chloe."

Aubrey sputtered, barely managing to keep herself from sending her café latté all over the table, and struggled to recover. "What?"

"Chloe's hot." Stacie pointed out. "I'd do her."

Aubrey frowned. "Really?"

Stacie nodded. "Would you?"

Aubrey's frown deepened, and Stacie started to worry that she'd overstepped. Or had been reading Aubrey all wrong all year.

"Chloe isn't really my type." Aubrey finally admitted. "She's selfless to a fault, but she needs someone who'd cater to her whims. I prefer everything to be straightforward. If I'm into someone, I want it to be simple, and easy, someone who can just tell me what they want. You know?"

She did now. Stacie nodded. "So, Chloe: she really likes Beca, huh?" Off Aubrey's alarmed look, Stacie quickly explained to assure the blonde she hadn't just outed her best friend. "It's kind of obvious, the way she looks at Beca."

Aubrey deflated. "I guess. I don't know. I didn't even think really about it, until this whole thing. She keeps telling me I've been ruining her chances since Beca joined the Bellas. I think I've been pretty supportive, even if I thought it was just another one of her crushes."

"That was you being supportive?"

Aubrey shot her a look. "Given how Beca Mitchell has been totally oblivious and constantly makes Chloe sad by being selfish and self-absorbed, and won't even deny her toner for that new Treble? Yeah. I think I was."

Okay then. Stacie decided to not touch the subject again.

Stacie looked at the older girl expectantly. "So what are you gonna do?"

What Aubrey turned out doing was making up with Chloe by making her in charge of managing the Bellas, making sure they were taking care of themselves while Aubrey tended to the more grueling task of figuring out the logistics of their trip to New York. She also handed Beca the pitch pipe, because honestly Beca's knowledge of music was more vast than her own.

And she asked Stacie out to dinner.

It was after they finally decided on what their set was going to be, when Aubrey had been largely out-voted on her stand to preserve the Bellas' tradition of only performing songs by female singers, when nobody in their right mind would have wanted to be around Aubrey to bear the brunt of that tirade, but Stacie had long ago lost her taste for self-preservation when it came to Aubrey, so she had chased their captain down.

It wasn't a date.

At least, Stacie was pretty sure it wasn't a date, because a date required at least three hours' worth of prep time, with grooming and worrying about what she was wearing, and all that jazz. _Not_ a casual invite after rehearsals that led to dinner, and dessert, and a walk through the town where Aubrey pointed out the places she was going to miss, once she graduated.

Aubrey had been accepted to Barden's post-graduate program, but she'd also been accepted to another one in Boston, which was far more competitive and prestigious, and there was little debate on which one her father wanted her to go to.

"Well, it's _Boston_ ," Stacie pointed out, as they made their slow walk back towards campus, their hands brushing together slightly every so often. "Who wouldn't want to go?"

"The mortality rate of their program's really high."

"Yeah, but you're tough. You'd tough it out just to prove a point." Stacie pointed out.

Aubrey remained unconvinced. "I don't want to stay with a post-grad to prove a point. I'd want to stay because I like it."

At that statement, Stacie laughed, unable to control herself from doing so.

Aubrey shot her a glare. "What?"

"You made us sing that Eternal Flame mashup to prove you can win with it." Stacie pointed out. "I'm supposed to believe you when you don't want to do anything just to prove a point?"

Aubrey rolled her eyes, but her lips quirked into a smile. "Shut up."

Stacie grinned as they walked on in companionable silence. As they neared her dorm, however, she asked, "What do you think our chances are at the finals?"

"Ah! I don't want to think about it." Aubrey shook her head. Neither of them mentioned what a departure that was from earlier that year. "If I do, I'll start worrying, and if I worry, I'll freak out, and if I freak out, I might barge into Beca's dorm room and make her come up with a mix until we find the perfect one."

Stacie smiled at her. "Well, I'm just glad you're getting along."

"Let's not exaggerate."

Stacie laughed.

When they got to the front door of Stacie's building, she turned to Aubrey. "Thanks for dinner. Maybe some warning, next time?"

Aubrey smiled apologetically. "Yeah. Sorry about that. I just… I realized I'll graduate soon, and I would be leaving all this behind."

Stacie nodded. "You'll miss it?"

Aubrey contemplated the question for a moment, a small smile on her lips. "You know what? I will."

"Then I'm flattered you showed me." Stacie replied. She turned towards the door, but was abruptly stopped by a hand on her arm. She turned back, confused. "Is something wrong?"

"What? Yes. I just…" Aubrey shook her head, but didn't release her hold on the tall brunette. She gave Stacie a small smile. "I just realized, I never said thank you."

Stacie frowned, confused. "For…?"

"Friday night coffees?" Aubrey reminded. "I can't imagine what kind of hit that must have put on your social life, so thanks."

Stacie laughed. "You're welcome."

"Not even going to deny it." Aubrey said, bemused. She shook her head in mock disappointment. "Good to know."

"No!" Stacie giggled, shaking her head as well. "I mean, it was fun. And you don't need to thank me."

"No, I really do." Aubrey insisted. "Chloe's always been there, but between the boys, and her taking too many classes to try and graduate on time, and this year Beca… I know I was a pain in the ass at the start of the year, and honestly I don't know how far I would have pushed everyone if I didn't have Friday night coffee to keep me sane. Not to mention the mostly vomit-free existence."

"Well," Stacie shrugged, feigning nonchalance while inwardly pleased that her efforts had been appreciated, "Friday night coffee helped keep me STD-free, so I guess we're even?"

Aubrey blinked, startled and confused, before laughing softly and shaking her head in amusement. "Got me there. Good night, Stacie."

When rehearsals stepped up a notch and Aubrey got even more busy with preparations for the ICCA finals and finishing all her requirements for graduation — nobody seemed to question why Chloe wasn't as stressed about graduation as her best friend — Aubrey had to beg off Coffee Fridays, which Stacie could understand. But for the days and weeks that followed, Stacie often wondered if there had been a point during that entire exchange that she had been expected to make a move, or if she had somehow thrown Aubrey off from making one. It had been a total cliché of a setup, after all, what with the long walk after dinner and being at Stacie's building's front door…

Had she missed her chance?

Stacie had convinced herself it was better this way, that she had not succeeded in seducing the Bellas captain and neither of them had pushed their friendship further, since the dynamic of the group is dependent on their general camaraderie and friendship, and Stacie was glad that it was intact. Some days Stacie truly believed it was better, that she and Aubrey had never crossed the line of their friendship.

Generally. Mostly.

Maybe just a little.

Not really.

Because when Aubrey went and undid the bun she'd kept her hair in during their Finals performance, and she was smiling and laughing and just generally having the time of her life, Stacie realized just how much she would miss Aubrey, that the girl would be leaving and all Stacie would have of Aubrey were memories with the Bellas, and coffee on Friday nights.

Then Beca jumped off the stage to kiss that guy from the Treblemakers, and she _really_ didn't want to know what it felt like to be Chloe at that moment, watching the girl she liked making out with someone else.


	2. Chapter 2

At least Chloe knew how to put on a brave face, even in the face of such evident heartbreak, and could carry on as if nothing mattered in the world, focusing instead on celebrating victory with her teammates. She had been, after all, their den mother, and teams always took on the characteristics of their leaders.

The Bellas' figurative father figure, however, sat out on the hotel balcony, outside the celebratory circle of Bellas, who were causing a racket inside the hotel room under Fat Amy's name. Somehow - and even Aubrey had no idea how - Fat Amy had managed to get her room upgraded to a suite on a concierge floor, but it meant everybody fit inside the room comfortably and nobody would be making noise complaints to hotel management, so Aubrey couldn't exactly protest.

"You alright?"

Aubrey turned, and smiled at Chloe, who closed the door to the balcony behind her, and sat down beside Aubrey. "I'm fine."

"Party's inside."

"Just needed some fresh air." Aubrey answered. She glanced at her best friend. "You're OK?"

"We just won the ICCAs. I'm super."

Aubrey gave her a reproachful look. "You know that's not what I'm talking about."

Chloe smiled apologetically, and shrugged. "Well, we kind of saw this coming. You more than me, but..."

Aubrey laughed softly. "I'll spare you the I-told-you-so."

Chloe smiled back.

Aubrey took a sip from her nearly-empty cup of cheap-beyond-the-telling-of-it champagne. "Have you told them you're sticking around for another year?"

Chloe shook her head. "That can wait."

"Or you can freak them out first day of school."

Chloe grinned. "That could be fun." She leaned closer to Aubrey, resting her head on the blonde's shoulder. "I'm gonna miss you."

"I'll miss you, too, Beale." Aubrey rested her head against Chloe's. "Thanks for sticking it out with me, Chloe."

"You and me, right?" Chloe smiled, hooking her arm with Aubrey's. "Chaubrey forever."

"No, not Chaubrey." Aubrey whined at the portmanteau Chloe had given them as freshmen. "I told you not to call us Chaubrey."

"Too late." Chloe laughed.

"I mean it, though. Thanks for everything." Aubrey turned to press a kiss to Chloe's hair. "Especially the past year."

"Everyone needs the occasional kick in the ass."

Aubrey laughed. "And that's you?"

"Of course it's me. Official ass-kicker."

"I'd ask if that's the title written on your card, but knowing you, it just might be."

They laughed, because it was true, before their laughter settled down.

Aubrey knew she had taken her best friend for granted, and had meant it when she'd said that Chloe was selfless to a fault, and Aubrey had unconsciously taken advantage of that for years. She'd relied on Chloe to be Barden's official Aubrey Posen apologist, to be her hand to hold and shoulder to cry on, and had appropriately returned the favor, but Aubrey knew she could have been a better best friend in general. For one, she could have been a little less brutal about all things Beca Mitchell, but it was hard to be kind when she could only sit by and watch as Chloe lost her heart to someone completely unaware of the fact.

She had never wished to be more wrong about Beca than she did at that moment. (The ICCA trophy helped.)

"You're really OK about Beca?"

"Yeah." Chloe sighed. "No. But as long as she's happy, right?"

Aubrey scoffed mildly. "I don't really care about her happiness as I do yours."

"Well, I'm happy as long as she's happy." Chloe declared.

Pause.

"She's an idiot."

"No she isn't."

Aubrey huffed petulantly.

"I know." Chloe smiled at the words Aubrey wouldn't say to describe Beca. "I still like her, though."

Silence descended between the two seniors, undercut only by Chloe playing with her phone, until:

"You should tell her."

"I can't."

"Yeah, but you _should_."

What neither of them mentioned was that Aubrey had _tried_. In her head she had worked out multiple scenarios in which she looked Stacie Conrad in the eye and told the freshman exactly how she felt, but none of those scenarios ever came to fruition, either from her own ability to self-destruct at the worst possible moment, or just an uncanny ability to talk herself out of good possibilities (and also partly-due to the nerve-induced vomit that somehow worked itself into each of those situations before Imaginary Stacie could formulate a response). Either way, Aubrey had somehow managed to never tell Stacie how she felt.

And that was unfair, because their coffee dates had been a highlight of her last year in Barden University.

Not that she'd ever called them coffee "dates" to Stacie's face, although Chloe had teased her about them since she found out about it, and it was testament to how good a friend Chloe Beale was, in never telling any of the other Bellas just how much those coffee meetings meant to Aubrey. Or how those coffee dates had evolved from Aubrey getting to know a Bella recruit, to study dates, to just Aubrey enjoying spending time with the sometimes-flighty, but surprisingly complex, freshman.

Aubrey sighed. "I'm graduating in a few weeks. Isn't that unfair to Stacie, to start something now?"

"You think you're just starting?" Chloe sat up, and the tone in her voice was a challenge in itself. "Ever since you sent in your reservation to Boston, taking Barden out as an option, you've looked like someone kidnapped your dog. You didn't even tell me your dad was making you go to Boston until Stacie gave you a Red Sox cap 'to blend in' and you had to explain to everyone the reasons why."

Aubrey exhaled. She pouted at the redhead. "I don't want to go to Boston."

"Yeah, you _do_." Chloe corrected. "You haven't worked this hard and wouldn't have applied there if you didn't." She grinned. "Besides, you told me freshman year you were gonna work your ass off in Barden and get there and kick ass to prove a point about Barden."

Aubrey rolled her eyes at Chloe's memory, as well as at her past self, because Freshman-Aubrey had been adamant about making the most of being in Barden University, about becoming a Barden Bella and sticking it out in the university despite Barden's lousy Business undergraduate program. (Their post-graduate program wasn't that much better, but Aubrey had needed a safety school.)

"And, take it from someone who just had to sit through faking the squee-factor of Beca and Jesse? You don't want to be stuck wondering if that could have been you." Chloe bent Aubrey's head, and kissed the top of it as she stood up. "So you'll be leaving in a few weeks. You and Stacie could have those couple of weeks, or you could beat the odds and last past that, but at least you'd know, right?"

"I don't know if you've gone blind and haven't noticed, but Stacie's beautiful, and smart, and funny, and has legs that go on for days. People line up to be with her." Aubrey reminded. "Meanwhile, I'm the girl who throws up when she's nervous at inopportune moments."

"Yeah, but isn't a girl who's willing to commit partial social suicide to have coffee with you every Friday night worth the chance?" Chloe smiled knowingly, and opened the door back to the suite to head back inside. Just inside, however, she beamed at someone just behind the door, and greeted, "Hey, Stacie."

Aubrey turned quickly, startled, and conflicted on whether or not she wanted Stacie to have heard the latter part of her conversation with Chloe.

Stacie stood at the doorway, confused, holding two cups of champagne in her hands and staring after the departing Chloe. She shrugged, as if answering an internal question, and stepped out onto the balcony, closing the door behind her. She handed Aubrey one of the cups, leaning against the railing. "Chloe said to freshen your drinks."

"Thanks." Aubrey rolled her eyes at her best friend's obvious manipulation. She regarded the brunette, who sipped her drink. "You know, legally you're not supposed to be drinking."

"Good thing I'm in the company of a responsible adult." Stacie quipped, grinning. She used her cup to gesture at the door, to where Chloe had disappeared to. "Is Chloe OK?"

"She'll be fine." Aubrey shrugged. "Beca's not subtle."

Stacie smiled weakly. "That's got to suck, though."

"She's backing off, for now." Aubrey took a sip from her cup. "But I'm getting the feeling we're gonna have to wait a long time to see what happens next."

"That resilience you were talking about?" Stacie guessed.

Aubrey tapped the side of her nose with the tip of her index finger, and pointed at Stacie. "You got it."

Stacie sat down, still against the balustrade, facing Aubrey. "Why aren't you inside?"

"Thinking."

"About?"

"Winning the ICCA championship." Aubrey smiled wryly.

"Getting what you've always wanted?" Stacie guessed, stretching out one leg to nudge Aubrey's side with her foot.

"That." Aubrey's smile grew fond. "How much I'll miss the Bellas." She rolled her eyes. "Even the hobbit. Even if she's an idiot."

"There's that heart wanting what it wants thing again, I guess." Stacie allowed.

Aubrey glanced at her. "You know, it's occurred to me we've never actually talked about what _you_ want."

Stacie laughed. "I want what everyone wants, Aubrey." Off Aubrey's questioning look, she continued, "world peace."

"Something a little more realistic?" Aubrey prompted. "Tell me what you want."

"What, like a brand new house on an episode of Cribs?" Stacie quipped, not missing a beat. "With a bathroom I can play baseball in. And a king size tub big enough for ten plus me."

Aubrey looked genuinely confused, which only made Stacie smile.

"I want a credit card that's got no limit." Stacie continued. "And a big black jet with a bedroom in it. So I can join the mile high club at thirty-seven thousand feet."

"Wait, are you-" Aubrey's eyes widened, and she slapped Stacie's extended leg beside her. "Nickelback? You're singing _Nickelback_ to me? I thought we were friends!"

Stacie laughed, doubling over in hilarity. "Your face-!"

"I can't believe you'd sing Nickelback to me. To my face!" Aubrey accused. She huffed, crossing her arms across her chest and looking away from the brunette. "I feel so betrayed right now."

"Aww, Aubrey," Stacie cooed, and made the necessary adjustments so she could sit beside Aubrey. She wrapped her arms around the blonde, and rest her chin on Aubrey's shoulder. "Don't say that."

Aubrey huffed again.

"So that's a no to the mile high club?"

Aubrey rolled her eyes, and turned to face the other girl to make a retort about how sex and Nickelback should never mix, but Stacie's position meant their faces were just inches apart. Their eyes met, and their play-fighting was instantly over.

Aubrey gazed wistfully at Stacie. "I didn't want to start something my senior year."

"I know."

"And I'm leaving in just a few weeks."

"I know."

"If it doesn't work out, I don't want to be someone who loved you and left you."

Stacie blinked, and jerked her head back, but didn't let go of Aubrey. "You love me?"

"Yeah, that's..." Aubrey frowned. "That surprises you? Why does that surprise you?" Her eyes widened, her breath catching. "Have I been reading too much into us?"

"Breathe." Stacie cut in, concern overriding her momentary surprise.

"I'm trying." Aubrey assured her.

"I don't understand." Stacie admitted. She intercepted Aubrey's next panicked remark. "I mean, I'm really into you, too, but we haven't had sex."

What? "What-"

"We haven't even made out! No, we've never even kissed!" Stacie exclaimed in a whisper, as if afraid that speaking any louder would get the Bellas' attention from inside the suite, and ruin the moment. "How can you know?"

Aubrey paled. "Oh my God, did I just go zero to I love you?"

"We've never gone on a date!" Stacie said accusingly. She paused, and frowned. "Wait, was our dinner a date? Or all that coffee: were we dating already? Have I been missing it?"

"What? No." Aubrey protested. "Trust me, if we were dating, you'd know."

"I would?"

"You know a part of this is me trying to ask you out, right?"

"I knew we liked each other, I didn't know we were both in 'I love you' territory!" Stacie exclaimed.

"Wait, we're 'both'...?" Aubrey was trying to grasp the conversational thread but Stacie kept making sharp turns.

Stacie gave her a look.

Aubrey blinked. _Oh_. "Really? When?"

"I don't know." Stacie shrugged. "But when the girl you like projectile-vomits in front of you and you think you still like her anyway, that's..." She exhaled. "If that's not love, then I don't know what is."

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "Good to know."

"So we could have been dating this whole time?" Stacie questioned, intrigued.

"Probably not, you would have hated dating me before today." Aubrey reconsidered. "Before they handed us that trophy, actually."

"Fine, but we could have been banging this whole time?"

"Let's not exaggerate."

Stacie gave her another look, this time more skeptical.

Aubrey conceded her point. "Yeah, okay, probably. Sex is easier than dating, that would probably have been likely."

Stacie, for her part, was still stuck on her point. " _We could have been banging this whole time?_ "

"Yes, Stacie. That's not the point. Pay attention."

"Fine." Stacie pouted. "Why are you bringing this up now?"

"Because the hobbit kissed a Treblemaker."

Pause.

"...Not what I thought you'd say." Stacie admitted. "What?"

"Beca kissed a Treblemaker. My best friend had a front row seat to having her heart crushed by that hobbit." Aubrey said softly. "I don't want to leave wondering if we could have been more than just coffee buddies. I like you, Stacie Conrad. And I think you're amazing. And in a few weeks I'm going to leave Barden, but I'd really like it if in that time we can see where we can take this thing between us."

Stacie smirked. "We could be banging right now."

"Date first. Bang later." Aubrey rolled her eyes at the fact that she'd actually just said "bang" as a euphemism for sex.

"Are you serious?" Stacie gave her a look of incredulity. "We only have a few weeks, you know. You just told me we could have been banging this whole time, and you want us to keep waiting?"

"I want to do this right."

"I like you and you like me, and the word 'love' had been brought up, I don't know how much more right you want to be, you perfectionist." Stacie retorted, enjoying the flash of affectionate (and exasperated) annoyance on Aubrey's face. Seriously, though: they had been dancing around this mutual attraction long enough.

Aubrey paused to consider that point, but couldn't let it go. "We'd still have to wait until we get back to Barden since we're both sharing rooms, but I guess if we have breakfast together tomorrow, without everyone else, we could consider that a date?"

Stacie's eyes lit with mirth, and she quickly closed the gap between them, pressing a quick kiss to the other girl's lips. "Yes. Let's do that."

They grinned at each other, giddy at the prospect, before Aubrey noticed the expectant look on the younger girl's face. She rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Stacie, and then we'll bang."

* * *

Thanks for reading, reviewing, following and favoring. It means a lot.


	3. Chapter 3

This… was not how she expected things to play out.

This was supposed to have been about seducing Aubrey Posen, to get her into bed and to get her to loosen up, to accede to a less-demanding time during Bellas rehearsal.

Not… this.

Not the constant desire to be around Aubrey, or the annoying feeling that time spent apart were useless minutes that she would never get back, or the fact that she now openly scorned people who criticized co-dependent relationships because clearly, those people were not in love with Aubrey.

Okay, the last two were exaggerations, but when Aubrey was stuck finishing research papers _and_ her final thesis for the past week, well, it was hard to remind the hunter that Aubrey was an autonomous entity whose life did not revolve around pleasing it. And it had only been a week since they became official, was it too much to ask to spend time with her girlfriend?

Was it?

Of course she knew Aubrey was going to be busy, graduation was lurking just around the corner and as someone competing for Summa Cum Laude — because merely graduating with honors wasn't enough for the goal-oriented perfectionist that was Stacie's girlfriend — Aubrey would be busier than most.

Also: Aubrey Posen was her girlfriend. That was still taking some getting used to.

 _Being_ Aubrey Posen's Girlfriend (like a proper title, and you know it) had its pros and cons, like anything else. The cons were the same complaints Stacie had from when Aubrey ruled as Bellas captain: high maintenance, strict with her time, prone to unnecessary panic and anxiety attacks, a wildly controlling nature. Pros included the knowledge of the best food to find around Barden, academic help and insight on how to ace general subjects, the cute banter back and forth both in person and through text messages. Aubrey was Old School romantic, so there was an emphasis on flowers and dates and doing special things for Stacie (when she was able, because _damn impending graduation_ ). And the sex: oh God the sex was glorious. Every belief she had about Aubrey's aggressive and obsessive personality and how it translated in bed were proven true, and it was _amazing_. Stacie could build a whole curriculum on orgasmic sex based on her time with Aubrey.

That is, if they ever spent time together ever again, because, seriously, one week into the relationship and already she was barely seeing the blonde on anything close to a regular basis.

When Beca complained during lunch the other day that she and Aubrey had been stuck in a two-hour meeting with the school board to award the new ICCA champions with its own official residence, among other Bella-relevant matters, Stacie had almost reached over to pull Beca's hair and claw her face out, because _two hours_. Stacie had barely spent that much time with Aubrey the past week.

Well, to be fair to Aubrey, she had warned Stacie that this could happen.

But they were supposed to be _dating_ , for heaven's sake. Shouldn't Aubrey be putting as much effort in the 'Dating Stacie Conrad' part of her life the way she was doing with her schoolwork?

Wasn't that the whole point of being in a relationship?

Not being left to hang out with her friends at a fraternity party to mark the start of the weekend, being hit on by oblivious coeds who had not yet received the Facebook status update that she was In a Relationship with Aubrey Posen.

Of course, knowing Aubrey, that girl probably hadn't updated her own Facebook status yet, making Stacie's claim a little questionable.

She hated Aubrey sometimes.

"Dude, just admit you want to be boring and spend the night at the library watching Blondzilla study, we'd all be happier." Beca finally told her.

"No I don't." Stacie argued.

"You've been sulking the whole week." Jessica reminded, earning herself a glare from Stacie, and the blonde flinched, but didn't relent.

Clearly, she had not yet learned the full power of the glare the way Aubrey did.

"Yeah, you've been a downer the whole week." Cynthia Rose agreed.

"You'd think a whole weekend of banging your girl would make you happy, but…" Fat Amy didn't finish her statement, probably because Stacie threw her a confused look, wondering how the other girl knew she and Aubrey had locked themselves in the apartment Aubrey shared with Chloe when they returned from New York, with Chloe's blessing (that girl deserved a Peace Prize, for real), and didn't come out until Monday for class. Nobody was supposed to know about that but Chloe, and she knew for a fact that Chloe hadn't told anyone, and neither had she nor Aubrey, so…

More importantly, Stacie sulked, was the fact that said sex marathon was, of course, _a whole week ago_.

The hunter had needs.

And Stacie missed her girlfriend. And she admitted as much.

But there wasn't really much of anything the Bellas could do about it.

"She's cramming weeks of work." Chloe told her, in a quiet moment when they found themselves alone in the kitchen pretending to look for ice.

Stacie frowned at her.

Chloe blew out a breath, knowing she was probably betraying Aubrey's trust in telling Stacie exactly what was going on, but she knew how easy it was for Aubrey to lose sight of everything else but the goal at hand, and Stacie hadn't yet learned that facet of Aubrey's psychology. "You make her happy. She wants to stay in your honeymoon bubble, or whatever the heck she called it. But she knows graduation is breathing down your necks, so she's finishing everything she can now, so you can enjoy the rest of your time together."

"But…" Stacie's frown deepened. "Why couldn't she just tell me that?"

"She likes people to think she's invincible." Chloe sighed. "She says it's easier that way."

Stacie groaned. Of course she does. "Where is she now?"

Chloe smiled wryly. "She said she was going to the library."

Stacie hesitated, confused by the tone in Chloe's voice, lighthearted but with just a hint of a challenge. "But…?"

"It's Friday night." Chloe said simply.

Stacie threw her another confused glance, but excused herself anyway, deciding to take Beca's advice anyway, because watching Aubrey study had to be better than being hit on by people not named Aubrey.

She was halfway to the library when Chloe's simple statement resonated, hitting Stacie with all the subtlety of a brick to the head.

 _Shit._

She was never going to try and run in heels again.

Aubrey was not on the couch, where they usually sat in their preferred coffee place, instead she occupied a seat at a table, a collection of books and notebook paper sharing her space, as well as two cups — one empty, the other half-full — and a plate with a half-eaten sandwich on it. She had one elbow on the table, supporting the hand she used to hold her head up as she frowned at her laptop screen. Beside her was a trash can full of crumpled sheets of paper.

She startled when Stacie sank onto a seat beside hers. She glanced around, and frowned. "What are you doing here? The Bellas were going to a party tonight."

"It's Friday night." Stacie answered, as if that said everything.

And it seemed to work, because Aubrey exhaled. "I have things to finish."

"It's Friday night." Stacie repeated. She pointed at Aubrey's laptop. "How much of what you're working on needs to be submitted by Monday?"

Aubrey grimaced, knowing immediately that Chloe had shared the reason behind Aubrey's madness. "Stacie…"

"Why are you doing this?" Stacie questioned. "We should be enjoying our new relationship, not… whatever it is we've been doing the past week."

"Because I thought I could do this." Aubrey answered, looking down at the open book on the table in front of her. "I thought I could just be with you, and I was wrong."

Stacie's expression slackened. She leaned back, the sad shock of that declaration hitting her sharply. "What?"

Aubrey looked up at the broken sound in Stacie's voice, and upon review of what she'd said, immediately corrected herself. "No! Gosh, no. I didn't mean…" She grabbed Stacie's hand, and held it tightly. "I just mean, the high of the victory made me forget that life doesn't just stop because we decided to start a relationship. That just because we can lock ourselves up in my room and pretend that there isn't a world outside doesn't mean it stops to exist. Because it didn't."

Stacie frowned. "So why…?"

"Because the first thing that happened on Monday was we were given the timeline for the rest of our semester leading up to graduation." Aubrey admitted. "And, really, it was really just a list of deadlines we had to meet, and it hit me, that's how much time I have left with you. And I didn't want to have to balance out trying to meet those deadlines and spending time with you, so…"

"So you thought you'd get all of that out of the way?" Stacie clarified. Chloe told her as much, and having Aubrey explain it helped, but it still didn't really calculate.

Aubrey at least looked sheepish about it. "When I'm with you, I want to be with _you_. Not thinking of a paper I need to finish, or pages of my thesis I still need my editor to look through. You deserve better."

Stacie furrowed her brow. "You're stressing yourself out for me?"

Aubrey frowned. "That's definitely _not_ how I'd like to put it…"

Stacie laughed, with just a hint of droll hysteria, because how the heck did it happen that was she dating a type-A overachiever? All she'd wanted to do in college was to have fun, to do what all movies and tv shows told her college was about and balance school and finding friends to become her makeshift family, while also having sex with as many people as she wanted.

 _Aubrey Posen_ had not been part of those plans.

Except she had been. And the irony was the fact that her original plan for Aubrey was to seduce her into loosening up, to get her to relax.

Not this.

Aubrey watched the parade of emotions play across Stacie's face, finally settling on one of wry amusement. "Stace?"

Stacie looked at her, and gave her a wry smile. "Did you know I started flirting with you for the specific purpose of getting you to relax?"

"Yes."

"And– wait, what?"

Aubrey gave her a wry look of her own. "You're not exactly subtle, Stacie."

"Excuse me?" Stacie demanded.

Aubrey closed the lid on her laptop, and without releasing Stacie's hand in her own, moved her chair closer to the brunette. "Plus you literally said as much the first time we went out for coffee."

Stacie frowned.

"It was strange, actually. I knew you were trying to seduce me, you probably had concluded somehow that the best way to get me to ease up in rehearsals was to get me to release whatever aggression or frustration during sex, and I should have been offended." Aubrey shot Stacie a wistful smile. "It would have been simpler that way, right?"

"Seriously, what? You knew this whole time?" Stacie demanded. "If you knew, why did you agree to coffee?"

"I thought it was stage two of your seduction." Aubrey admitted.

"How did you know there was a stage one—" Stacie caught herself, and focused on the matter at hand. "And you still said yes?"

"I was flattered." Aubrey confessed. "I've seen you at parties, you know, working your magic. I'd never seen you work a long game. And honestly? If all you'd wanted was a friends-with-benefits set up, I probably would have agreed."

Stacie was awash in a sea of confusion. "But…"

"We could have been banging this whole time?" Aubrey guessed at the root of Stacie's confusion. At Stacie's nod, she laughed. "I walked you home every night we got coffee. You never once asked me to come up to your room."

"Seriously?"

Aubrey nodded. "And the more time I spent with you, the more I realized I wasn't going to be happy with just friends with benefits. I liked us being friends, but…"

"You wanted more." Stacie finished for her. "If you knew what I was doing and you wanted more, why did it take you so long to ask me out?"

"I thought you were only in it to get laid." Aubrey replied. When Stacie started to protest, she hastened to explain the belief. "Stacie, you weren't exactly keeping your extra-curricular activities a secret. Once I realized that I liked you, I didn't want to be just another name on your list of conquests; I've been there, and it's not fun."

"Then what changed?" Stacie asked.

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "We lost the Semifinals. And unless I came up with some brilliant plan to keep the Bellas going, chances were, I wasn't going to see you again. So I decided, right, that if I had the chance, that I'd tell you."

"But you didn't."

"Yeah, I chickened out. I almost did, though." Aubrey pointed out.

Stacie paused, frowning, trying to figure out when exactly the turning point could have been. Their defeat at semifinals led directly into Spring Break, and when they got back with the announcement that they had qualified for the ICCA Finals, they pretty much went straight into preparations and rehearsals. But one memory came up, and with it was Stacie's answer. "After we decided the set list."

Aubrey nodded.

"I always wondered if I had missed something that night."

Aubrey laughed softly. "I just… I wanted to kiss you that night, tell you what was going on. But Finals was coming up, and I didn't want to risk our friendship, and the camaraderie of the Bellas, so I just… didn't."

"You should have."

"Well, I know that now." Aubrey quipped.

Stacie gazed at Aubrey, into those blue eyes, and shook her head. "Okay, word of advice? Next time, just talk to me. I mean, all kidding aside, Aubrey, we could have been together that much sooner. Because I've liked you since semis, but I've never really had friends who were girls before, and figured we were just really good friends."

Aubrey looked at her, trying to gauge how much to share, before she decided to throw caution to the wind. "If we're in this, you should know that me shutting people out is my go-to when I'm stressed."

"Well, that won't work, because I am an _excellent_ stress-reliever." Stacie told her.

"I also get really mean when I'm not getting my way."

"I get angry when people are unnecessarily mean." Stacie warned her.

Aubrey paused, considering that point, before she hazarded: "So… angry sex?"

Stacie never understood what the term "weep with joy" meant, but realizing Aubrey _got_ her made her extremely happy that her eyes kind of stung. But, more important matters. "I don't like being neglected, Aubrey."

"You're kind of dating the wrong person if you need that kind of constant attention." Aubrey told her apologetically. "I mean, I can try and make it up to you, but…"

"Hold up." Stacie interrupted, interest piqued. "Are you a grand gesture apologist?"

Aubrey nodded. "It's really pathetic."

"Do you grovel?"

"Not so much 'grovel', but pretty close."

"So the make up sex will be elaborate?"

"And thorough."

Yes. She definitely she loves this girl. Stacie cracked a grin. "Want to get out of here?"

"God, _yes_." Aubrey leaned forward, sharing a quick kiss with the brunette. "Let me pay my tab."

* * *

The End.

* * *

 _I know I said the second chapter would be the last, but I needed to get something off my chest. Again, thanks for reading._


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